


Break My Heart In Two, But When It Heals It Beats For You

by serenity_of_silence



Category: Victorious (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Beck/Jade Friendship, Best Friends, Both in love with each other, Cat Valentine & Jade West Friendship, Cute, Depression, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Football player Beck, Friends to Lovers, Friendship between the entire group, Idk what's happening with trina yet sorry, Jade/Ryder Daniels, More Characters Might Be Coming, Photographer Jade, Robbie/Andre/Beck Friendship, all that shit, at some point, best friends to lovers au, cute and angsty, cute moments, im excited, let's get into the romantic shit now, lowkey nervous, maybe depressing at some point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:46:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26902336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serenity_of_silence/pseuds/serenity_of_silence
Summary: Jade West is sick of her best friends Cat and Tori setting her up on blind dates. Dates where everything goes horribly wrong and there's never a spark. She decides the only way to get it to stop is to date someone. Well, fake date someone.That's where Beck Oliver comes into play. Sweet, smart, ridiculously perfect Beck Oliver. Jade's best friend since second grade. That she's also always been in love with.When Beck and Jade start fake dating, all of Jade's blind date problems seem to vanish. But what happens when Jade starts to let her real feelings come out, and does Beck feel the same?
Relationships: Beck Oliver/Jade West
Comments: 7
Kudos: 25





	1. Heart wants what it wants

**Author's Note:**

> Hiiiii ;) This is my new fic that I'm actually really excited for. Best friends to lovers and fake dating have always been two of my favorite tropes so I thought why not write it as Beck and Jade. But, I'm really excited to get all of the feelings going with this one. Gonna be cute, angsty, depressing, romantic, everything. We're starting off with beck and Jade being just friends right now, but I promise fake dating is coming up soon. I'm sorry if I don't update fast, got a long happening with school and when I write, I want it to be perfect. But here's chapter one, let me know any thoughts you have and if you like it. Enjoy <3333

What did Jade west love about Beck Oliver? Everything. She loved how people just seemed to gravitate towards him. She loved how his smile made people,  _ including herself _ , practically pass out. She loved how he never let football overrule academics. She loved how he was secretly good at singing and she was the only one that knew. She loved how he insisted on seeing every newly released horror movie together. She loved how he made her the football team’s photographer-pulling her out of her comfort zone. She loved how his parents and siblings loved her as if she was a part of the family. She loved how their personalities matched so well, yet were so different. Most of all, she loved how they were best friends, through everything. 

But that’s all she was to him, _ a best friend. _ Nothing more, nothing less. She’d practically been in love with him since they were seven, but she would never tell him that. She’d grown to accept that they would never be anything more than friends. He’s the _ it guy _ for god’s sake- perfect, handsome, quarterback of the football team. And what was she? Just Jade. Sarcastic, anti social, Jade. But their friendship was everything to her, and she'd rather spend the rest of her life hopelessly in love with him than tell him her feelings and everything be ruined. So she kept that secret to herself. Nobody needed to know, _ especially not him. _

What did Beck Oliver love about Jade West? Everything. He couldn't think of one thing that he  _ didn’t  _ love about her. He loved how once they started highschool, she made a habit of dying her hair. He loved how she dressed for herself and no one else. He loved how she was,  _ no doubt,  _ the most gorgeous person he’d ever seen. He loved how she was a horror movie fanatic and Halloween was her favorite holiday. He loved how she despised football, but still went to all of his games and became the team’s photographer. He loved how she barely let anyone touch her, but he was always allowed to. He loved how she was openly honest with people, something he could never be himself. He loved how when she cared about someone deeply, she showed it. And most of all, he loved how they were best friends, through and through. 

But that’s all he was to her,  _ a best friend _ . Who happened to be a guy. He’s pretty sure she thought of him the same way she thought of Tori and Cat. A best friend and nothing more. He’d practically been in love with her since he was seven, but he would rather die than admit that to her. Telling her his feelings put their friendship at risk, and no way in hell was that going to happen. She was the most important thing in his life, telling her everything meant he may lose her. And he wasn’t about to test that theory, so he kept it to himself. Nobody needed to know,  _ especially not her. _

\-----------

“You’ve got to be kidding me, right?” Jade slammed her locker closed, turning to look at the two girls nervously smiling next to her. 

Tori Vega and Cat Valentine, or as Jade liked to call them-  _ dumb and dumber _ . Besides Beck, they were her two best friends. And sure they annoyed the hell out of her, but she’d grown to love their antics. 

Cat Valentine- the school’s loveable airhead. She wasn’t all there when it came to academics, but everyone recognized her as the sweetest girl in school. Jade can’t remember a single time where she’d seen Cat get upset or angry at anyone. Her constant affection and love to everyone in her vicinity was the complete opposite of Jade, yet they somehow worked as friends.

Tori Vega- everyone’s favorite socialite. Kind, popular, charismatic, Tori Vega was extremely well liked by her peers. President of almost every club she was in and head of student council, she was a perfectionist in everything she did. Jade couldn’t stand her when they first met, but after Cat forced them to hang out together, they’d grown to like each other. 

And now, early Monday morning, Cat and Tori were shoving a coffee in Jade’s hand while giving her pleading looks.

“What? This guy could be the one! Give it a shot” Tori insisted, leaning her head back against the lockers, offering Jade a hopeful smile.

“Yeah Jadey, I mean who knows, maybe this guy will end up being your perfect match and you’ll live happily ever after” Cat twirled a piece of hair around her pointer finger, fluttering her eyelashes at Jade. 

“Don’t be ridiculous Valentine, every date you and Vega have tried to set me up on has  _ failed”  _ Jade rolled her eyes while crossing her arms in front of her. 

“Jade, you know I’m sorry about all those other dates that backfired but-”

“You mean all _ twenty six dates? All twenty six horribly forced dates? _ ” Jade interrupted Tori, glaring at her. 

Jade wasn’t over exaggerating, she was serious. Over the past four years of highschool, Cat and Tori had tried setting Jade up on 26 different dates. All of them going _ awfully.  _

She didn’t know why they were so persistent on playing matchmaker with her, but it was getting old. She knew there was one person she wanted to be with at this school, and it was  _ never  _ happening. So why waste her time trying to date someone else she won’t end up loving?

“ _ Yes.  _ But you’ve got to trust me, I think this guy is perfect for you” Tori shoved her textbook in her backpack, her other hand reaching out to grab Jade’s shoulder.

“Please please please please..” Tori begged, Cat bouncing up and down next to her. 

“You should know begging Jade for something this early in the morning rarely works” Beck came up to them, standing next to Tori and Cat while giving Jade a teasing smile. 

“Beck, please tell her she needs to go on this date, she’ll listen to you” Tori gripped Beck’s arm, nudging him to persuade Jade.

“Try all you want Oliver, I said no already.” Jade smirked at him, shaking her head back and forth.

“Come on, you don’t even know a lot about him yet. Please consider it” Cat started to use the same whiny tone Tori had been using all morning, _ god did it annoy the hell out of Jade.  _

“J, at least listen to what they have to say, who knows? Maybe this time you’ll actually like him” Beck shrugged, earning an eye roll from Jade. 

“Why’d I think you’d actually be on my side with this one?” Jade questioned him. She looked at the ground and took a deep breath, looking up to find the three of them staring at her with hopeful grins. 

“You’re not going to let me go to class until I  _ at least _ agree to hear what he’s like, are you?” Jade almost smiled at the looks on their faces, stupidly pleading for her to hear them out. 

“Nope” Tori smirked, crossing her arms in front of her, copying Jade’s stance.

“God you’re so annoying. Fine, tell me about him” Jade let out a sigh, Cat immediately clapping her hands. 

“Okay so his name is Gilbert, he’s a junior-” Tori started off, quickly being stopped. 

_ “Gilbert?”  _ Jade laughed, “there’s no way I’m dating a guy named  _ Gilbert.” _

The way Jade emphasized the name made Beck let out a laugh, shaking his head at the ground. Tori and Cat shot him quick glares, wanting him to shut up.

“You know, I could have a field day with the name Gilbert” Jade turned her attention to Beck, who was now taking the coffee out of her hands. 

“Yeah that name’s unfortunate” Beck shook his head, bringing her coffee up to his mouth.

Cat and Tori didn’t seem as amused as Beck and Jade, but before they could keep trying to get her to agree, the bell rang. 

“We’ll talk more about this at lunch” Tori gave Jade a stern glance before grabbing Cat by the hand and dragging her to their first period class. 

“I hate them” Jade rolled her eyes, looking at Beck who was still laughing quietly. 

“No you don’t” Beck chuckled, walking in front of her as they made their way to French class. 

“I wish they’d stop with this whole matchmaker thing, I hate blind dates” Jade seethed, catching up to Beck. 

“Who knows? Maybe this one will be worse than the  _ twenty six _ other ones and you’ll have a new record.” They approached the classroom, Beck pulling open the door so she could go in first. 

“I guess, maybe if this one goes bad enough, it’ll finally get Tori to stop and I’ll no longer have to put up with her shit” Jade set her books down on the desk in front of Andre’s, Beck sitting in the seat next to her. 

“I think I know this Gilbert guy they’re trying to set you up with, pretty sure he’s on the soccer team” Beck opened up his backpack, pulling his stuff out. 

“ _ Of course you do, _ you know everyone at this school” Jade gave him another eye roll. Andre came back from talking with some people, sitting at his desk and joining their conversation.

Beck and Jade both met Andre in third grade when he moved from New York. He joined the flag football team Beck was on and they’d clicked instantly. Beck insisted that he meet Jade, and while Andre was nervous at first, it all worked out. He’d had a crush on Jade since they met, but he knew they’d be better off as friends. Something in him was telling him that Beck and Jade were a thing. Whether they knew it or not. They always seemed to be off in their own little world together. Andre decided staying only friends with Jade was the way to go, and it’s not like that was a bad thing. They’d clicked just like him and Beck had. They had matching dark senses of humor and the same music taste. If Beck was considered Andre’s number one best friend, Jade was definitely his number two.

From there, he met Jade’s other two best friends Tori and Cat, who he loved just as much. Robbie didn’t join their group till sixth grade, coming from a different elementary school, but they accepted him like he’d always been there. Overall, all of them were happy. A friend group of 3 girls and 3 guys worked well, no drastic problems had come up yet.

“What’s got you all annoyed West?” Andre asked her, ruffling up her hair jokingly. 

She smacked away his hand, giving him a glare, “just dumb and dumber trying to set me up on another blind date.”

“Another mystery date set up by V and V?” Andre chuckled, clapping his hands together. “That’s exciting, you know I love hearing your awful date stories, they’re the best part of my week.”

Jade narrowed her eyes and glared at Andre, Beck immediately putting his hand up to get her to chill. He sent Andre a look, signaling him to stop the teasing. He had a feeling Jade wasn’t really in the mood for it today.

Andre threw his hands up in defense just as their teacher walked in, the conversation being dropped as they started to work. 

\---------

“Like I was saying earlier, his name’s Gilbert, he’s a junior-”

“I’m going to stop you right there, you know I don’t date younger guys” Jade cut Tori off, the three girls setting their stuff down at their usual lunch table in the courtyard.

Andre was already waiting for them, eating and doing some homework, but Robbie and Beck weren’t there yet. Jade took notice of Beck’s absence, but wasn’t surprised. He usually got to lunch a few minutes late, probably socializing with people after class.

“He may be younger, but I swear he’s mature. He’s in Cat’s physics class, meaning he’s taking senior classes when he’s a junior. That’s gotta count for something, right?” Tori kept rambling as she sat down next to Andre, Cat sitting to her left. 

Jade sat across from Tori, who she had started to tune out, her attention being caught by something different. 

Beck and Gabriella Pizcelli, hardcore flirting. Beck had just began to make his way over to their lunch table before Gabriella stopped him. She was laughing loudly at something Beck had said, gripping his sleeve tightly while her other hand twirled a piece of her hair. Jade thought she looked like an idiot, but Beck didn’t notice the girls failed attempts at flirting. 

Beck rarely ever did notice, he thought all those girls were just being friendly. He also didn’t notice that he usually flirted back. Jade always teased him about it after, but Beck denied it every time, claiming he just liked being nice.

Gabriella gave him one last flirty wave before leaving, Beck continuing to walk over to where they were all sitting. He set down his stuff next to Jade and smiled. 

“So Gabby P? Cheerleader?” Jade asked, signaling to Gabby walking across the courtyard. 

“What? She was just asking me about Friday’s game” Beck shrugged, finding their whole interaction completely normal. 

“I don’t know Beck, she seemed really flirty with all the arm grabbing and obnoxious laughing” Cat raised her eyebrow at Beck, laughing. 

“Man you’re so lucky, I wish Gabby would flirt with me, she’s gotta be one of the hottest girls in this school” Andre closed his homework, putting it back in his bag.

“I still don’t think she was flirting, some people just like to make friends” Beck took one of the fries off of Jade’s plate, throwing it into his mouth. 

“ _ Right”  _ Jade tipped her head at Beck, grabbing his hand to stop it from taking another fry off her plate. 

“Anyways” Beck dragged out “you’re coming to Friday’s game, right?” 

“Duh, I’m team photographer” Jade said, like it was obvious.

“Just checking” Beck put his hand up in defense, pulling Cat’s plate closer so he could eat her fries. Robbie had finally gotten to their table, mumbling angrily to himself about chemistry homework he had to finish.

“Movies tonight?” He asked Jade while Cat pushed her plate towards him, saying she wasn’t hungry anymore. 

“You know we can't, we have our French project to do” Jade scoffed at him, Beck groaning in response. 

_ “Jadeee”  _ Beck dragged out her name, throwing his head back “please don’t make me do French.”

“Hey, you should be the one caring about this stuff, you know. You do badly on any assignment and you’re benched for a game” Jade reminded him. 

“Listen to Jade, man” Andre warned. “You’re team captain and our best player, we lose you and our season’s practically over.”

“You know that’s not true Andre, the team’s great” Tori nudged his shoulder. 

“Yeah, because we have Beck” Andre countered back at her. 

“Our team would do great with or without me” Beck shrugged at them.

“You don’t actually believe that, do you?” Jade questioned, “I mean sure the team’s good and all, but you’re what makes them  _ that  _ good.”

They all nodded at what Jade said before Beck changed the subject.

“You guys coming to Friday’s game?” he asked them all except Jade and Andre, who’s answers he already knew. 

“Yeah, school mascot this year, remember?” Robbie looked up from his chemistry homework and sighed. 

It was true, Robbie had become the school’s mascot for this year’s football season. He said it was good for his college applications, but they all felt bad. Actually, they all thought it was really funny, but felt bad for him nonetheless.

“Man that bites” Jade commented “Being dressed up as a cardinal in front of the whole school has to  _ suck”  _ she snickered. 

“J, play nice” Beck gave her a side eye roll while Robbie ignored her and went back to his chemistry homework. 

“What about you two?” Beck turned to Tori and Cat. Cat was currently braiding Tori’s hair, picking up leaves that had fallen from the tree next to them, and putting them in the braid. 

“Student council made posters to hang up around the stadium since it’s the first game of the season” Tori took an apple out of her backpack “I’ll be there.”

“I’ll be there too, they’re letting me be the announcer for the halftime show” Cat squealed, pulling Tori’s hair on accident. 

Beck and Jade nodded at what they said. Tori and Cat went back to their conversation about a theatre project while Andre helped Robbie with his chemistry homework. 

“So, movies tonight?” Beck tried again, giving Jade a smile.

“You know we can’t, Oliver” Jade rolled her eyes at him “C’mon, I need a good grade in French this year.”

“Fine, fine. I still don’t get why you’re taking French though, why not just take Italian?” Beck asked her. 

“I already speak fluent Italian. Why would I take a class for Italian if I already speak it?” Jade shot back. 

She’d been speaking Italian since she was little, her mother always using it around the house growing up. It came out from time to time now, but usually when Jade was really upset or annoyed. She’d switch from English to Italian without even realizing. 

“Just saying, you take a language you’re already fluent in and it’s easy all year” Beck shrugged.

“Maybe I like to challenge myself” Jade arched an eyebrow at him. “So what time are you coming over tonight?” 

“Probably around seven, practice goes on till 6 and I’ll need to go home and shower.”

“Jasmine’s going to be there, just warning you” Jade sighed, opening up her backpack and pulling out her camera.

“Good, I love little West” Beck said while Jade pointed her camera at Cat and Tori, taking a picture of Cat doing Tori’s hair. 

“Her last name’s Morelli, not West, you know that” Jade didn’t move her eyes away from her camera as she talked.

“Won’t stop me from calling her little West.”

“I wanna come see Jazzy!” Cat looked up from Tori’s hair and joined in on their conversation about Jade’s little sister. 

Jasmine Morelli, Jade’s six year old half sister. Her mom had her from a random one night stand when Jade was 11. Jade wasn’t too fond of the idea of a little sister, especially with an 11 year age gap. But now she loved her sister, no matter how annoying the six year old was. Her friends loved Jasmine too, especially Beck and Cat. Beck had all older siblings, so being close to Jade’s little sister was important to him. And Cat just adored little kids. 

“We’re doing a French project tonight, and you don’t take French” Jade looked up from her camera to glance at Cat.

Cat frowned a little and was just about to argue with Jade about coming over before Tori cut in.

“Cat, we  _ can’t  _ go to Jade’s tonight,  _ remember?  _ We have that  _ really important thing _ to plan” Tori said through gritted teeth, looking between Jade and Cat. 

“Oh,  _ right”  _ Cat giggled, avoiding Jade’s eyes and looking at her hair nervously. 

“If you two are going to plan that  _ stupid  _ date with Gilbert tonight, you can forget it” Jade gave them disapproving looks as she set her camera on the table.

“That’s totally  _ not _ what we’re going to do” Cat giggled again, making it really obvious that they were  _ totally  _ going to do that. 

“Why won’t you guys just give it up already, accept the fact that all of your blind date ideas suck” Jade rolled her eyes at them.

Cat and Tori ignored what she said, Cat refocusing on Tori’s hair while Tori opened up her theatre history book and started highlighting parts of it.

“Can you believe them?” Jade turned back to Beck.

If Beck was being honest, he was on Jade’s side with this one.  _ Obviously  _ because he wasn’t fond of the idea of Jade going on dates with other guys. But also because Tori and Cats matchmaking games usually put Jade in a foul mood for the rest of the day. 

Beck didn’t answer Jade’s question, instead he picked up her camera off the table and pointed it at her.

“Your turn” he gestured for Jade to smile at the camera, earning him a scowl in return. 

“Beck, no” Jade shook her head at him. 

“Come on J, humor me” Beck pointed the camera at her again. This time, she didn’t smile. But instead, narrowed her eyes at the camera and crossed her arms in front of her. 

Beck smiled at the camera screen showing Jade. Her leather jacket was being held against her tightly, her black painted fingernails popping out underneath it. Her long black curls were falling against her shoulders, the green streaks sticking out. Her glassy blue eyes were glaring at him, but there was a small smile toying on her lips. 

Beck snapped the picture, pulling the camera away to look at it. “Perfect” he breathed out, showing the final product to Jade. The wind picked up just as he had taken the picture so her hair was blown softly against her face in it. Jade had to stop herself from blushing after Beck called her perfect, but the sight on her camera screen was a good distraction.

“Oh god, delete that” Jade tried to yank the camera out of Beck’s hands but he backed up. 

“No, this one’s a keeper” he was now standing up from the table, holding the camera against him to keep it away from Jade. 

“Beck” Jade stood up from the table too, her shoulder accidentally hitting Robbie in the process. 

“Sorry J” Beck turned around and laughed, looking at the camera to figure out a way to send the picture to himself. 

"Beck Oliver” Jade walked towards him, nudging his shoulder slightly. He turned around and looked at her, she looked pissed but was laughing still. 

“Come on, you know you look good in it, keep it” Beck persuaded. Usually, Jade would’ve taken the camera and deleted the picture immediately, but Beck complimenting her again made her stop herself. 

“Fine, keep the picture. But it’s never being posted anywhere, got it?” Jade was still laughing as she sighed, sitting back down at the table. 

“I wanna see the pretty picture of Jadey” Cat looked up from Tori’s theatre history book. She finished braiding Tori’s hair a few minutes ago and was now doing homework with her. 

“Look” Beck sat down next to Jade again, handing the camera over for Cat and Tori to see. 

“Jade, you look so pretty” Tori awed at the camera in Cat’s hands, Jade glaring at her. 

“Shut up Vega.”

“Seriously Jade, you need to post this! Look at how pretty your eyes are in it! Send it to me” Cat smiled at Jade, handing the camera back to Beck. 

“Will do” Beck set the camera down on the table. 

“Will not” Jade said back to them 

Beck threw his hands up in defense, but as Jade looked down at the camera on the table, Beck looked at Cat again, mouthing “will do” to her. 

Cat started giggling into her hand at that, causing Jade to look up at them. 

“What?” Jade asked, looking back and forth between Cat and Beck. 

“Nothing, nothing” Beck looked down and laughed a little, biting his lip.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it Jadey, you know I just like laughing” Cat kept giggling mindlessly while talking. Andre and Robbie finished up Robbie’s chemistry homework just as Tori put her textbook away. 

“Hey Jade, _ totally _ hypothetical question, but if you _ had _ to go on a date tomorrow night, would you rather go to the movies or bowling?” Tori cocked her head to the side while asking Jade.

“Vega, I am not answering that question” Jade glared at Tori, causing her to shrink back a little.

“Come on, I said it was hypothetical!” Tori protested.

“I know why you’re asking that question, and I already told you  _ no”  _ Jade kept her glare steady, Beck almost laughed at how pissed she looked. 

“Fine” Tori huffed, shoving her textbook back into her backpack. 

“She’d rather do the movies, right Jade?” Beck threw his arm around Jade’s shoulders, chuckling softly. 

The gesture caused Tori and Cat to smile, pulling their phones out to look at movie times. Jade, however, wasn’t as pleased. 

“Beck” she shoved his arm off her shoulders “now they’re going to make me see some dumb movie with  _ Gilbert.” _

“It can’t be that bad, can it?” Robbie asked, Jade turning to her right so she could scowl at him. Robbie shrunk back at her stare, returning to eating in silence. 

“Give me one good reason not to kill you right now” Jade bit her lip while looking at Beck, trying to stop herself from lashing out. 

“You’d miss me too much” Beck flicked a leaf off of her jacket while talking, giving her a flirty smile. 

“ _ Non hai idea di quanto ti odio in questo momento Beck Oliver”  _ Jade let out angrily

“English please J” Beck laughed, nudging her shoulder. Jade hadn’t even realized she went from English to Italian, but Beck found it hysterical. 

“I said ‘you have no idea how much I hate you right now Beck Oliver” she flicked his forehead as she spoke. 

“I think you love me” Beck shrugged and Jade had to stop herself,  _ again,  _ from blushing. 

Jade gave him a tight grin just as two girls came up to their table. They gave small waves to Tori and Cat, and one of them winked at Andre, but then all of their attention was on Beck. 

“Hey Beck” one of the girls gave him a flirty smile. Jade was pretty sure she was a junior and her name was Tara. 

“Excited for Friday? First game of the season, right?” The other girl spoke, putting her hand on Beck’s shoulder. Jade recognized her as a senior, Hayley, she was in her AP literature class. 

Jade’s eyes narrowed as Hayley and Tara kept their conversation going. Hayley’s hand rubbed small circles on Beck’s shoulder while he ran a hand through his hair. Jade wanted to smack Hayley’s hand away and tell them to leave, but she knew she couldn’t. So instead, she started talking to Cat, still seething inside. 

Beck kept talking to them for a couple more minutes, which wasn’t shocking to Jade. He was kind and social, of course he wasn’t going to send the two desperate girls away. 

When they did run along eventually, Beck put his attention back on Jade. He put his head on her shoulder and nudged her, causing her to drop her conversation about physics homework with Cat. 

“What” Jade looked at him with a straight face. 

“Don’t be madddd” Beck dragged out his words, putting his head against her shoulder. 

“I’m not mad” Jade rolled her eyes “Just didn’t want to take you away from your  _ loving super fans _ , you need them to win homecoming king.”

Beck chuckled at her sarcastic remark “homecoming nominees aren’t announced for another week, so I don’t need them for that  _ yet. _ ”

This earned another eye roll from Jade, moving her body so it was facing away from Beck. She tried to talk to Andre and Robbie before her attention was caught by Beck again. 

He leaned his head against her arm, sighing loudly. She shook him off and raised an eyebrow at him. 

“What do you want” she spoke in a harsh tone. 

“I know you’re annoyed at your date tomorrow night and not at me, so I’m going to let the mood swings go” Beck smiled, moving her hair away from her face. “Tonight, I promise to work extra hard on French. That way, instead of focusing on your stupid date, you’ll be more focused on trying to get me to understand anything you’re saying. Deal?”

Jade smiled at Beck’s attempt to make her less annoyed. She looked down at the ground and smiled,  _ he was always so good at making her no longer upset and she hated it.  _

“Deal, Oliver.” 


	2. Ever Told You How Much I Love You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pizza and Homework. The perfect night-in for Beck and Jade. Plus Jade's little sister Jasmine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hi hi :) Back with another chapter. This one I really like so I hope you like it too. It's basically Beck and Jade with Jade's little sister, Jasmine. We also learn a little bit more about Jade's past dates. Next chapter, stuff is going to go down and i'm really excited for it. I have all of the ideas for it written down and am gonna start it this week, so hopefully expect a fast update. Anyways, I'll shut up now and let you read, so enjoy <33333

Jade stood against the front door’s frame, watching as Beck pulled his truck’s door closed. He grabbed his backpack, a grocery bag, and what looked like a pizza box out of the backseat, looking up and smiling at her.

“You’re late” Jade called from her position at the door, Beck shaking his head at her as he made his way up her front yard. 

“Yeah, but look, I brought gifts” Beck gestured to the pizza box and grocery bag in his hands. 

“You’re thirty minutes late because you stopped at the store and got us pizza?” Jade questioned, pulling the front door open all the way so he could go inside. 

“Practice ran late too” Beck dropped his backpack onto the ground, making his way towards her kitchen.

“And why was stopping to get pizza necessary?” Jade followed him through the hallway, reaching forward to take the pizza out of his hands. 

“Well you get stressed when we do schoolwork and when you’re stressed you’re cranky. Figured the only way to keep you in a good mood was to make sure you eat. Plus, I know your mom’s at work for the night so I have to make sure Jasmine doesn’t starve” Beck shrugged while chuckling, setting the grocery bag down on the kitchen counter.

“Idiot, she’s not going to starve, I fed her dinner earlier” Jade set the pizza down then smacked his arm, rolling her eyes at his joke of her not being the best babysitter. 

“Oh yeah? And what was that so called dinner?” Beck gave her a teasing smile, watching as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. 

She gave him another eye roll “Well I tried to make pasta, but that backfired so she just had peanut butter and jelly.”

“See, that is why I brought food. You’re a terrible cook Jade, it’s a miracle poor Jasmine hasn’t  _ died yet”  _ Beck laughed again, Jade not finding him amusing. 

“Where’s the little one anyway?” Beck asked, looking around the large kitchen to see if he could find Jade’s sister. 

“Upstairs, practicing violin” Jade opened up the pizza box while talking, shrugging her shoulders.

“Geez Jade, she’s only six and you’ve already got her playing instruments?” Beck turned the pizza box so it was facing him, taking a slice for himself. 

“She wanted to do violin, I suggested piano” Jade shrugged again, pulling two plates out for them. 

“I’m gonna go get her” Beck set his pizza on the plate Jade gave him before walking away, heading towards the staircase that led to the house’s second floor. 

As he walked up the marble staircase, he took in his surroundings. He’d been to Jade’s countless times, practically lived there. But every time he was over, he found himself taking everything in all over again. 

Her house was stunning, a three story mansion in a gated community. With 10 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, Jade always felt it was too much for just her, her mom and her sister. But Beck and the rest of their friends thought it was cool, loving the idea of having such a big place to always hang out at. 

The entire house was put together flawlessly, fancy decorations, marble countertops, and sleek wood floors. They only had the house because of her parents divorce settlement that stated her mom got the house and full custody of Jade, but her mom wanted to make it as home-like and beautiful regardless. 

And it was beautiful, but it was also lonely and dark. Only the three of them lived there, and most of the time her mom was at work. So with the absence of her mother, Jade and Jasmine were usually the only ones home. Since it was typically just the two of them, they didn’t need a lot. Oftentimes, the majority of the house went unused and had little to no lights on.

Beck thought the home was too isolated and despondent for the girls, and even though she denied it, he knew Jade felt that way too. That’s why he made it his goal to be with them as much as possible, bringing them dinner at least twice a week. He’d go over after practice or before work, helping Jasmine with homework and studying with Jade. He knew they needed the company even without Jade asking for it, she was never one to ask anyone for help, even him. 

As he wandered down the second floor’s hallway, he wasn’t surprised. It was all around dark except for the light coming out of Jasmine’s room. He peeked through the slightly ajar door, knocking softly. He watched as the six year old set her violin down in its case. She made her way over to the bedroom door and pulled it open, smiling widely when she saw it was him. 

“Beck!” she shrieked, jumping into his arms and wrapping her hands around his neck. Beck grinned against her as he lifted her up, spinning her around slightly. Her excitement to see him even though she saw him two days ago was one of his favorite things. Making sure he had a good relationship with Jade’s sister was vital to him, Jade as well. He could tell it meant a lot to her that him and Jasmine got along, wanting her sister to always have someone looking after her. 

“What are you doing here?” Jasmine asked as he set her down.

“Brought pizza” Beck kneeled down so he was at eye level with the small girl, her giving him a big grin. 

“How’s the violin playing going?” He asked, gesturing to the instrument in the room behind her. 

“Eh, Jade wanted me to play piano, said she’d teach me, but I wanted to learn violin on my own” Jasmine shrugged. “I’m not very good at it though.”

“Nah, I bet you’re great. But you know, all great violin players need a break” Beck arched an eyebrow at her “why don’t you come down and eat?”

“Jade tried to give me dinner earlier, she’s awful at cooking though so it wasn’t yummy” Jasmine stuck her tongue out at that, giving him a disgusted look. 

“Yeah I bet, you know our girl’s not the best in the kitchen” Beck chuckled, turning around so Jasmine could get on his back for a piggy back ride. 

“When’s my mom getting home?” Jasmine asked as they made their way down the stairs, heading back to the kitchen. 

Beck winced at the question, knowing even though the girl wanted her mom home desperately, it would probably be late in the night. 

“I don’t know, but hey, you have Jade and I to keep you company” Beck turned his head so he was looking at hers resting on his shoulder. 

They got to the entrance of the kitchen, finding Jade sitting at the counter. She was eating and doing homework at the same time. She was biting her lip and looking down, concentrating while highlighting something in their French textbook. 

She looked up at the sound of Beck setting down Jasmine in the seat next to her. She gave them each a soft smile before going back to her homework. 

Beck smiled at the sight of her eating and doing work, she was in sweats and her hair was in a messy bun, but Beck loved it. It was a sight only he got to see, her dressed comfortably and relaxed, not completely put together like she would be for school. 

“What’s in the bag?” Jasmine asked him as he moved around the kitchen, grabbing a plate and slice of pizza for her. 

“It’s a surprise” Beck shrugged, smirking at her while setting the plate in front of her. 

“Just tell me Beck” Jasmine gave him a glare, one that closely resembled Jade’s signature expression. 

“Okay bossy” he teased, reaching behind him to grab the bag. “It’s stuff for s’mores. J and I have a French project to work on and you know she’s mean to me when she gets worked up. But lucky for us, I brought s’mores stuff to keep her happy.”

“I am not mean to you” Jade rolled her eyes but didn’t look up from the section she was highlighting slowly. 

“Yes you are J, but it’s okay, we love you anyways” Beck nudged her shoulder with his hand, laughing lightly. 

“We do not love your cooking though” Jasmine pretended to gag, earning a laugh from Beck and an eye roll from Jade.

Even with the 11 year age difference, the two girls were so alike. They had mostly the same features- dark hair, blue eyes, pale skin. But their personalities were also strikingly similar, both sarcastic and snide. Jasmine was practically a mini Jade, picking up on all of her habits and traits. 

“You know I could've just let you starve” Jade sarcastically replied back. She didn’t look up as Beck reached out to take her finished plate. 

“Would’ve been better than trying to feed me that pasta” Jasmine matched Jade’s sarcastic comment with one of her own. Jade looked up from her textbook and glared at her, Beck immediately coming in between them. 

“Okay, how about we do this. Jade and I will work on school for a while and you can go play some more violin” he looked at both of them. “Then when Jade reaches her breaking point, we’ll call you back down and have a fire and make s’mores.”

“Fine” Jasmine finished her pizza, pushing the plate towards Beck so he could set it in the sink with the other dishes. She leaped off the chair she was sitting on, smiling at them both before going back upstairs. 

“She’s gonna be the death of me” Jade shook her head, switching out her highlighter for a pencil so she could take notes on what she read. 

“She’s basically a miniature version of you” Beck began to do the dishes in the sink, starting up the hot water.

“Beck you don’t have to do that” Jade looked up from her notes when she heard the sink faucet start. 

“No it’s all good, you keep working” he insisted, beginning to scrub down their plates with a sponge. For the next ten minutes, they worked in silence. Jade kept writing while Beck finished up the dishes, setting them back in the cupboard he found them in. 

“So, when’s your mom getting home?” Beck questioned, taking the seat next to her that was previously occupied by Jasmine. 

“Midnight, got a big shipment in today that takes a lot of time to set up apparently” Jade shrugged mindlessly. 

Her mom started up her own floral shop right after her parents got divorced. It’s succes was a good thing, they needed it considering how little Jade’s dad was involved in her life. But the store’s success kept Jade’s mom working for long hours, barely home most days. It saddened Beck how little Jade’s mom was involved in her daughter's life, but he couldn’t do anything about it. 

“Will she be home tomorrow for Jasmine, considering _ you know what _ is happening?” Beck asked cautiously. Jade’s head snapped up at the mention of  _ you know what _ , knowing Beck was talking about her dreaded date. 

“Ugh, can we please not talk about  _ you know what”  _ Jade groaned. Beck gave her a look that told her to answer his question and she sighed. 

“My mom’s out with Daniel tomorrow night so Cat’s watching Jazz” Jade sighed again, getting a sympathetic nod from Beck. 

Daniel was Jade’s mom's boyfriend of two months now and Jade and Jasmine weren’t too fond of the guy. Though they weren’t too fond of their mother dating in general. Beck had only met him a few times, and truthfully, he didn’t seem that bad, but he didn’t try to argue with Jade over the matter. 

“Tell Cat to call me if they need anything, okay?” Beck gave her a serious look, getting a nod from Jade. 

“Don’t you have to work tomorrow night?” Jade asked. 

“Yeah, but if they need anything I’ll leave” Beck kept the serious expression on his face.

“I think Cat’s capable of babysitting for a few hours” Jade laughed.

“Yeah, but you know how Cat can get carried away. Remember when she tried to use your curling iron and almost set Jazz’s hair on fire?”

“Oh god, don’t remind me” Jade laughed again, closing her French textbook. 

“Why are you putting your book away?” Beck asked, watching as she shoved it into her backpack.

“Since you did the dishes, I finished our French project, all done” Jade shrugged like it was no big deal, but Beck kind of melted inside. 

“Have I ever told you how much I love you?” Beck gave her a bright smile as he spoke. What he said caused both of them to blush. Of course he meant love in a friendship way he reassured himself.  _ Well maybe he meant more.  _ But she didn’t know that, she thought it was all platonic. Neither of them noticed each other’s blush, both too busy trying to conceal their own.

“Yeah you better, cause that project was a bitch” Jade laughed, standing up from her chair. “Do you mind starting the fire, I’ll go get Jasmine.”

“Yeah sure” Beck walked away from the kitchen counter towards the door that led out to the deck. He pulled it open, finding the fire pit placed in the middle of their very large deck. He sat down in front of the pit, making sure the gasoline tank was hooked up before hitting the switch that turned the fire on. After a few seconds, the flames shot up and Beck exhaled, standing up again. He pulled three chairs close to the fire so they could sit, Jade and Jasmine coming outside, grocery bag and blankets in hand.

“S’mores time” Jasmine squealed, clapping her hands and bouncing up and down. 

“You’ve been around Cat too much lately, you’re doing her squeal and bounce thing” Jade scowled while taking the chair next to Beck’s, handing him one of the blankets she brought. 

Beck set the blanket down on his chair before standing up, grabbing the sticks they used for marshmallow roasting. He handed one to Jade and Jasmine and sat down again. Jasmine opened up the marshmallow bag urgently, shoving one into her mouth and another onto her stick.

“Cat’s coming over tomorrow, she’s going to stay with you for a bit” Jade told Jasmine as she set up the table next to them with the s’mores supplies.

“Why?” Jasmine asked, holding her marshmallow stick over the fire. 

“J has a date tomorrow night” Beck laughed as he said it, Jasmine joining in. She may have only been six, but that didn’t stop her from knowing about Jade’s awful history with dates.

“Shut up guys” Jade smiled sarcastically at the fire, Beck reaching over to rub her shoulder. 

“Come on J, you know Jazz and I are just messing with you” Beck offered, Jade frowning back at him. 

“I think this guy will be your prince charming Jade” Jasmine gave her a hopeful smile, taking her marshmallow away from the fire. 

“Maybe” Jade took the marshmallow off of Jasmine’s stick, placing it in between two graham crackers and some chocolate. 

“Jade’s track record with dates is already  _ so bad _ , I don’t think it could get any worse” Beck bit into his own s’more, swallowing before talking again. “I mean let’s review, first off we have Chris Baxley, who cried during your date…”

“Good god, I still can’t believe that happened” Jade interrupted Beck, rubbing her forehead in annoyance as he continued.

“Then we have Allan Barset, who had a girlfriend he didn’t tell you about. Then Michael Sherwton, who was an awful kisser” Beck laughed at the memory of Jade telling him about how sucky of a kisser Michael was. 

“Then we have Landon Devenfield from last year, who actually wasn’t that bad, but you had the whole pregnancy scare...” Beck trailed off. 

“Beck!” Jade glared at him, signaling to the young girl next to them “we don’t talk about that one, especially when there’s a six year old present!”

“Sorry J, couldn’t have a list of worst dates without including that one. And look, Jazz isn’t even listening” Beck shrugged, looking at the six year old next to Jade who was distracted, messily eating her s’more. 

“Okay well I get it, I’ve been cursed to have shitty dates forever, can we drop it now please” Jade arched an eyebrow at him, Beck throwing his hands up in defense. 

Jade picked up her phone, reading the time, it was close to ten. “Jazz, finish your s’more then it’s time for bed.”

“Why” Jasmine groaned, marshmallow and graham cracker crumbs spread across her face. 

“Because you’re six and have school tomorrow, it’s almost 10 o’clock, that means bedtime” Jade gave her a stern look that meant she was serious. 

“Fine” Jasmine huffed, finishing her s’more then standing up. 

“Night Beck” Jasmine gave him a small smile, handing her blanket to Jade so she could walk. 

“Night Jazzy” Beck returned the smile, watching Jade begin to stand up.

“I’m gonna take her up to bed, I’ll be down in a few minutes” she told him, setting the two blankets she was holding onto her chair. Beck gave both girls a nod as they opened the deck door, going back inside the house. 

“Come on, you’re tired I can tell” Jade lifted the six year old up, resting her on her hip.

“I’m not tired” Jasmine yawned.

“Yes you are and you know it” Jade smirked, feeling Jasmine rest her head against her shoulder. 

As they walked up the stairs, Jasmine asked a question Jade had not been expecting. 

“Are you and Beck dating?” She mumbled out tiredly, Jade almost falling down the stairs at the question. 

She tensed up, tightening her grip on the girl so she wouldn’t drop her “no, we’re only friends. Why?” 

“I don’t know, he just seems like your boyfriend” Jasmine’s voice came out tiredly and in a quiet tone. 

“He’s not” Jade responded fast,  _ even though I want him to be,  _ she thought.

“I think he’d be a good boyfriend for you” Jasmine’s eyes were almost fully closed as she mumbled, sleep close to taking over. 

“Maybe” Jade muttered, feeling Jasmine’s body go slack against her, signaling she was fully asleep.

She pushed open Jasmine’s bedroom door, turning the light off almost all the way so it wasn’t as bright. She laid Jasmine down in bed, moving her hair away from her face. She gave her a small smile before walking away, she turned off the bedroom light and closed the door. Heading back downstairs. 

When she opened up the deck door again, Beck was sitting closer to the fire, scrolling through his phone. 

“Hey” he looked up when he heard her pull the door closed, shutting his phone off and smiling at her. 

“Don’t act so innocent, I can’t believe you brought up the pregnancy scare thing in front of her” Jade gawked, raising her eyebrows.

“She’s six, and even though she’s really smart for her age, she had no idea what we were talking about. Plus, looking back on that memory now, it’s really funny.”

“It wasn’t funny at the time” Jade smacked his shoulder before sitting down in the seat next to him. 

They both could remember every moment of that day. Jade told him about her date with Landon a few days prior, and how it wasn't awful. She actually kinda liked Landon,  _ not as much as she liked Beck,  _ but still. She was so caught up in her 16 year old hormones and the fact that she actually liked one of her dates that she mistakenly slept with him. It got even worse when she felt sick the following week and was late. 

She told Beck first, of course, and he kind of freaked out.  _ More than kind of actually.  _ He felt like he was going to be sick for her, but he tried his best to keep a calm composure for the both of them. Jade was already frantic enough, he didn’t need to add on more worry. 

She ended up taking a pregnancy test with Tori that came back negative,  _ thank god.  _ But the false alarm still scared them for months to come. Now, the memory made them laugh, but at the time it was petrifying. 

“I don’t know what I would’ve done if it was positive” Jade shook her head, looking down. 

“Least we never have to think about it” Beck shook his head in relief just like she was. 

“I’m not looking forward to tomorrow’s mystery date” Jade groaned, resting her head in her hands. 

“You never look forward to them” Beck leaned across his chair and rubbed her back sympathetically. 

“Maybe it won’t be so bad” Beck suggested hesitantly, not knowing how she would react to his statement. 

“Who are we kidding, I know it’s going to be awful” Jade countered back. 

“Okay, let’s just say it is awful. Afterwards, you can meet me. The movie theatre you’re going to is a block away from Mooney’s. Your movie ends at 9 and my shift ends at 9:30. Once I’m done, we can do something to make you feel better.”

Mooney’s was the 24 hour café in the center of town, a usual hotspot for teenagers. Beck started working there a few months ago, actually enjoying the job. He usually took the night shifts, so he could go to practice and get homework done beforehand. Beck liked the shifts he picked, the café settled down at night time. Only a few customers would come in from time to time for a quick coffee or tea. And it helped that his boss was a friend of his mom’s and she was surprisingly chill. She let him pick his hours and didn't mind when his friends came to talk with him. 

“Can we go stargazing after, I feel like I’m going to need it” Jade asked, wrapping the blanket she picked up around herself tightly. 

“Course, whatever you wanna do” Beck warmly smiled, pulling her blanket so it was around her more.

“You’re the best” she said to him, giving him a grateful smile.

“Love you too.”   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is :))) I hope you enjoyed it. if you have any thoughts, ideas, or recommendations please let me know. Next chapter stuff is going to go down and we're going to get going so I hope you're ready ;) Can't wait for next chapter <3


	3. Promise Me No Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jade's awful date leads her to coming up with a plan. A plan to get Cat and Tori's matchmaking ways to come to an end. And that plan might involve Beck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Hi :) I'm back with a new chapter, one that I actually really like. I don't have a lot to say about this one except that it took me awhile to write just cause I had no ideas. But this is the finished product and i don't think it sucks so that's something. Anyways I hope you enjoy <333333

_"Be there in 15”_

Jade read Tori’s text and sighed, looking at the mirror to scan her outfit once more. Black pleated skirt, black tights, black leather jacket, and black top. Her hair was put in a messy braid that rested on her shoulder and she had faint makeup on. She sighed, deeming it alright, she wasn’t about to be over the top for a date she didn’t want to go to.

“Jazz! Tori and Cat are on their way!” Jade called to her younger sister, whose room was down the hall. She didn’t get an answer back, but assumed her sister had heard her.

 _“Stopping to get Cat and Jasmine ice cream”_ another text came in from Tori. Jade rolled her eyes while reading the text, but she wasn’t surprised. If Tori and Cat were driving somewhere together, which was almost always, they were bound to stop for some sort of sweet on the way. 

Jade didn’t know why Tori was fine with making her late for her date, _their date actually._ Tori told Jade during lunch that day that she was making it a double date with some guy she’d met at her sister’s college orientation. Jade was open to Tori coming along with another guy, hoping it would be some sort of distraction. But Tori reminded her that she had a date too, and it would be rude to ignore him, _as if Jade cared._

Now Jade was sitting at her vanity, mindlessly scrolling through her phone while mentally preparing herself for all the things that could go wrong on this date. 

It seemed like everything that could go wrong, had already gone wrong previously though. Being told “I love you” on a first date, happened in sophomore year. Made someone cry, she’d done it more than once. Pregnancy scare, happened once and was never happening again. 

Jade was so lost in her thoughts she hadn’t even heard the doorbell ring, instead she heard her sister’s shriek. 

“Cat and Tori are here!” Jasmine’s squeal sounded throughout the second floor of the house. Jade sighed, looking at her outfit once more before leaving her room. Jasmine had beat her down the stairs and was already welcoming Cat and Tori into the house. 

“Cat!” Jasmine squealed, jumping in her arms. Cat was so taken back by the aggression in Jasmine’s hug she almost spilled the ice cream, having to hand it to Tori quickly.

“You excited?” Tori asked her, stepping into the house while Cat talked with Jasmine at the front door. 

“You know I’m not” Jade shook her head, glaring at Tori. 

“Well you better change that attitude before we get there” Tori scoffed at her “speaking of which, we should get going, we’re already running late.”

“And who’s fault is that” Jade gave her a sarcastic smile that Tori ignored, turning back to the door so they could leave. 

“Jasmine be good for Cat, okay?” Jade raised her eyebrows at her sister, who was clinging to Cat’s leg. 

“And you” Jade’s eyes met with Cat’s “no using anything that can cause a fire, okay?”

“Course Jadey” Cat giggled, taking the ice creams out of Tori’s hands and handing one to Jasmine. 

“I mean it Cat” Jade’s glance was serious and Cat nodded. 

“I promise everything will be fine Jadey, don’t worry about us. Enjoy your date” she gave Jade a wink, before shutting the front door on both her and Tori. 

“They’ll be fine Jade, c’mon” Tori grabbed her arm, leading her across the front yard. 

“I know they’ll be fine. It’s me I’m worried about, this date is going to make me miserable” Jade shook off Tori’s grasp, starting to walk ahead of her. 

“You can’t be mad at me already, the date hasn’t even started yet. You don’t know if Gilbert’s awful or not!” Tori exclaimed, throwing her hands up. 

“Oh trust me, I know” Jade smiled sarcastically at the car door as she pulled it open, Tori moving to the drivers side. 

“What movie are we even seeing?” Jade asked, staring through the car’s windshield as Tori backed out of the driveway. 

“I don’t know, I let Gilbert pick. We’ll meet him and Trevor in the lobby” Tori shrugged, slightly turned around in her seat to make sure she wasn’t backing into anything.

“The guy you’re going out with’s name is Trevor? Really Tor?” Jade cackled as Tori shot her a glare.

“Yes his name is Trevor, and he’s a great guy so shut it” Tori scoffed as Jade shrugged. 

“I guess I have no right to talk considering you set me up with someone named Gilbert” Jade laughed, picking at her nails while Tori lifted one hand off of the steering wheel and smacked her on the shoulder.

“Promise me you won’t make fun of his name at the movie” Tori pleaded, giving her a desperate look. 

“No promises, you want me on this date, you’ll have to deal with the consequences” Jade scratched off a piece of her nail polish, grinning. 

Tori didn’t answer her, instead just rolled her eyes and honked at someone in front of them. 

“Move asshole” Tori yelled, leaning out of the car window slightly. 

“Wow Tor, never took you as someone with road rage” Jade chuckled, watching the car in front of them begin to pull forward.

“Well, when people are _dumbasses_ on the road, I get angry” Tori sighed, her shoulders slumping against the car’s seat.

“You and me both” Jade laughed as Tori leaned against the steering wheel, focusing closely on the road. 

“So, you must really like this Trevor guy?” Jade asked, scanning Tori’s outfit. 

“Is it obvious?” Tori asked nervously, looking down at her outfit. Blue fur crop top, tight jeans, and heels. 

“Very obvious, Trina’s always been the over the top one in your family, not you” Jade nodded at her, Tori slowly starting to tap the steering wheel. 

Jade noticed how she began to get more and more nervous and stopped her hand tapping “chill, you look great.”

“If this date goes bad, please don’t hate me for the rest of eternity” Tori gave her an anxious smile, pulling up to the movie theatre. 

“I’ll only hate you for a little bit, but you _so_ owe me” Jade opened the car door, walking towards the theatre entrance with Tori following behind her. 

“How are we supposed to find them?” Jade pushed open the theatre lobby’s doors, looking around the room full of people. 

“Told Gilbert you’d meet him at the concession stand and get our food while Trevor and I get the tickets” Tori gave her a slight push towards the concessions counter. Jade turning around and glaring at her while Tori playfully grinned and waved bye. 

“Hey, you’re Jade, right?” A guy asked her as she leaned against the concessions counter. He was taller than her by a few inches and had a blue t-shirt and sweats on. 

“How’d you know” Jade faced him, resting one arm on the counter and putting the other on her hip. 

“Seen you at school, plus I know your friend Beck” Gilbert shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

“Yeah, Beck said he knew you.”

“To be honest, I totally thought you guys were together until Tori planned this date” Gilbert told her honestly, angling his body so it was facing both her and the concessions sign. 

“You did? Why” Jade’s eyebrows furrowed at this, her body tensed up but she tried to not make it obvious by leaning against the counter the same way he was.

“I don’t know, you guys just seemed close, that’s all” Gilbert shrugged again “anyways, I’m Gilbert.”

“Yeah I figured” Jade rolled her eyes.

“Woah, someone’s not in a good mood” Gilbert chuckled at her, earning another eye roll from Jade.

“These kinds of things never go well for me” she shrugged aimlessly, not looking at him.

“Well, I want this to go well. Starting off with snacks, what do you want?” He pulled out his wallet, nudging his shoulder to the concessions sign. 

“You’re not paying for me” Jade took out her own wallet. 

“Guys pay on dates, that’s how it works” Gilbert began to take out money. 

“Yeah, not in my world. Tori made you come on this stupid date, and since she’s my friend, I should be the one paying” Jade wacked his hand away and put down her credit card. “Besides, it’s not like I can't afford it.”

“Oh yeah, your dad’s that super rich business dude right? The owner of West Energy Supplies?” Gilbert asked, causing Jade to stop in her tracks. First mistake to make on a date with Jade, bringing up her dad. She could already tell this date was about to be _great, just great._

“What I was _actually_ talking about was that I have a job of my own, I don’t use my dad’s money” Jade scoffed, pushing her credit card forward so the worker could take it. 

“My bad” Gilbert looked down and bit his lip. 

“What do you want?” Jade asked, narrowing her eyes at the concessions sign. 

“Whatever you get is good” Gilbert gave her a kind smile. Trying to make up for the whole dad thing, Jade assumed. 

“Two root beers and a popcorn” Jade told the concessions worker, who nodded at her. She turned away from Gilbert, looking around the lobby in hopes of finding Tori. 

After a few minutes she spotted her, with a guy, most likely Trevor. They were still in the tickets line, and from the looks of it, her night was already going super well. Trevor had his arm around her waist and Tori was laughing loudly at something he said. 

Jade tried to catch Tori’s eye, but she never looked in her direction. Gilbert grabbed the popcorn and drinks the concessions worker set down while Jade kept trying to get Tori’s attention. After several failed attempts, she rolled her eyes and picked up her credit card off the counter. 

“Why’s Tori here?” Gilbert asked, noticing what Jade was staring at a few seconds ago. 

“She turned this into a double date with some guy she met at her sister’s college orientation” Jade took one of the root beers out of Gilbert’s hands, beginning to walk towards Tori and Trevor, who had now reached the ticket’s counter. 

“Hey guys” Tori gave them a bright smile as she saw them come closer, holding onto Trevor’s arm. 

“Yeah, hey” Jade spoke in an annoyed tone, giving Tori _the look._

Tori immediately got the hint, looking between her, Trevor, and Gilbert.

“Hey, Trevor and Gilbert! You guys haven't met yet” Tori pushed Trevor 

towards Gilbert, grabbing Jade’s elbow and pulling her away slightly. 

“It’s already going bad?” Tori asked, Jade shaking her hand off her elbow. 

“He thought Beck and I were dating and then he brought up my dad, so yeah I’d say it’s going pretty badly” Jade scowled, resting a hand on her hip and running the other through her hair. 

“Okay it could be worse” Tori encouraged. “Do you blame him for thinking you and Beck were together, you guys totally act like you are. And secondly, he doesn’t know about your dad, so you can’t _really_ blame him for that.”

Jade let out a huff of breath, rolling her eyes. Tori glanced past her, looking at the two boys. They were standing a few feet away, watching them.

“Come on, they’re waiting. Let’s just see how the rest of the night goes” Tori tried to give a sincere smile as Jade glared.

“So, what movie are we seeing?” Jade asked, taking one of the tickets out of Trevor’s hand. 

“Haunting of Sistine Manor” Gilbert grinned.

“Beck and I planned on seeing that next weekend” Jade looked down at the ticket then back at Gilbert. 

Gilbert gave her an uncertain smile that Jade narrowed her eyes at. 

Tori noticed the tension and cut in, “you and Beck can see something else next weekend. Let’s head in!” She grabbed Trevor’s arm excitedly, leading him to the theatre. Gilbert tried to grab Jade’s hand as they went into the theatre, but she smacked it away. 

“Okay, Jade and I are in row 6” Gilbert looked down at his ticket, pointing to the lower rows of seats. 

“Tori and I are in row 8” Trevor pointed at a different row than Jade and Gilbert’s.

“You booked us tickets in different rows?” Jade looked at Gilbert with wide eyes. 

“Tori told me to” Gilbert shrunk back, slightly scared. 

“Why would you tell him to do that” Jade’s lips tightened as she talked, a sign she was getting angry _fast._

 _“_ I thought us being in different rows meant you guys could get to know each other better!” Tori tried to give them a cheery smile.

“Whatever, let’s just go” Jade shook her head, moving down the aisle till she was in their row, Gilbert trailing behind her. 

She sat down, looking behind her two rows, seeing Tori and Trevor already sitting in their seats, Tori laughing again. 

“So….” Gilbert sat down next to her nervously, “what are your plans after this?”

“Meeting up with Beck when he’s done with work” Jade shrugged. 

“ _Oh_ ….so you guys are like really close then?” Gilbert sipped his root beer while he talked, raising an eyebrow at her. 

“Yeah he’s my friend.”

“That’s….. _cool_ ” Gilbert looked down, twisting his straw around. 

“What?” Jade noticed his uncertainty, taking a sip of her own drink. 

“Nothing! Nothing…..I just think if you’re going to be my girlfriend you shouldn’t be that close with him. Trust me, I really like that you guys are friends and all, I just don’t want you spending all of your time with him if we’re going to be together.”

Jade looked up from her drink harshly, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to think of what to say. Gilbert didn’t notice her anger, looking at the movie screen and taking a sip of his drink. 

“Che diavolo c'è di sbagliato con te? Sei pazzo?” Jade was ranting in Italian without realizing, speaking fast and angrily. 

“I have no idea what you just said” Gilbert looked at her with wide eyes. 

“I said what the hell is wrong with you, are you insane?” Jade whisper yelled at him, noticing people around them getting annoyed that they were talking. 

“What do you mean?”

“What makes you think we’re getting together?” Jade’s voice got louder as she asked, her body stiffening. She tried to keep her voice quiet, but she couldn't help it. 

“That’s what we’re here to do, right?” Gilbert asked smugly.

“No, we’re here because I was forced into it. And you don’t get to decide who I spend my time with, regardless if you’re my boyfriend or not.” Jade crossed her arms, not looking at him. 

_“Sorry”_ Gilbert threw his hands up, “let’s just watch the movie, okay?”

“Whatever” Jade didn’t look at him, getting an eye roll from Gilbert. 

\---------

Beck’s night was going fairly normal. The cafe was practically vacant, only a few college students coming in and out for late night drinks. His shift had been relatively boring, there were hardly any customers and Jade hadn’t texted him during her date, he assumed that meant it was going well. 

He was wiping down the counter when three, _very loud,_ teenagers stumbled in with a six year old. He spotted Cat’s vibrant red hair moving across the cafe, her holding Jasmine’s hand and dragging her along. Robbie and Andre followed behind her, Andre humming a random tune as they walked. 

They all made their way up to the counter Beck was cleaning. Cat gave him a bright smile as they approached him, helping Jasmine sit on one of the stools connected to the counter.

“You guys realize how obnoxious you are, right?” Beck set down the paper towel he was using, raising his eyebrows at them jokingly. 

“We made it our goal to get you fired” Andre shrugged sarcastically, sitting down on a stool next to Jasmine’s. 

“Get me fired and you can’t get free drinks here anymore” Beck threw the paper towel in the trash before reaching into a cabinet, pulling out four mugs.

“The usual's?” He asked them “One hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, one passion fruit iced tea with extra sweetener, one caramel latte, and one nitro cold brew?”

They all gave him nods, watching as he turned around to start making their drinks. 

“So, have you heard from Jade or Tori?” He asked, pouring hot chocolate into a mug and grabbing the whip cream can. 

“Tori said she thought it was going well but that’s all I’ve heard” Cat said, starting to braid Jasmine’s hair. 

“Yeah, they both haven’t texted at all. Which is a good thing, right?” Robbie asked, resting his elbows on the counter. 

“Them not texting means Jade hasn’t ripped her date to shreds yet, so yeah, I’d take it as a good thing” Andre chuckled, making them all laugh.

“Why would Jade be ripping people to shreds?” Jasmine asked, taking a drink of the hot chocolate Beck placed in front of her.

“Have you met your sister?” Andre laughed, getting a whack on the shoulder from Beck.

“What? I was just kidding!” Andre faked being hurt from Beck’s slap.

“Jadey doesn’t like the dates Tori and I make her go on” Cat explained to Jasmine carefully.

“I know that” Jasmine stirred her hot chocolate, “she always says Tori’s hopes for true love are _bullshit_.”

“Jasmine don’t say bullshit” Robbie said quickly, looking around the cafe to see if anyone else heard the six year old swear.

“Why not? Jade says it all the time” Jasmine shrugged.

“Course she does” Beck chuckled, wiping down a cup and beginning to make the iced tea.

“That’s a big girl word Jasmine” Cat tried to tell her, shaking her head. 

“Well I’m a big girl” Jasmine argued back. 

“Yeah, but that word’s for special big girls, like ones that are Jade’s and I’s age” Cat continued, rubbing a hand up and down Jasmine’s arm.

“Promise you won’t say it until you’re older?” Beck asked, handing Cat her iced tea.

“Fine” Jasmine huffed, crossing her arms. Beck sighed, reaching into the cafe’s display case and pulling out a cupcake. He handed it to her, getting a squeal of excitement in return. 

He finished up Robbie’s caramel latte and Andre’s cold brew next, setting them on the counter carefully so they wouldn't spill. 

“You have time to take a break? Sit down?” Andre asked, all of them nodding in agreement. 

“Let me clean up real fast” Beck gestured to the messy countertop behind him. 

After a few minutes of cleaning and making a drink of his own, _regular black coffee,_ he joined them again, taking a seat next to Robbie.

“What are we talking about” he asked, noticing all of them deep in conversation.

“Our perfect matches” Robbie replied while wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“I think my perfect person would have brown hair and brown eyes” Cat said dreamily “also they have to be really nice and happy.”

“I don’t know about my perfect match, I feel like high school is too young to know.” Robbie said with uncertainty.

“Or maybe you just haven’t found the right person yet” Andre proposed.

“What about you Beck, who’s your perfect girl?” Cat asked, wiping whip cream off of Jasmine’s face. 

“I don’t know. She’d probably have bright blue eyes that are naturally glassy, long dark hair that's curly, around 5’6, has the same interests as me like movies and music, has a great body and is overall gorgeous, has good style” Beck was rambling without even noticing, lost in his thoughts as the group just stared at him. 

“Yeah, all of that. A girl that’s confident and totally herself without caring what others think” He finished, looking up from his drink to find his three friends, minus Jasmine who wasn’t paying attention, staring at him. Their mouths were almost all wide open and none of them blinked as they held their stares.

“Dude…” Andre started off.

“You totally just described Jade” Cat finished for him.

“What? I did not” Beck countered back fast, giving them all a confused look.

“Yes you did….you _totally_ did” Cat giggled, putting a hand over her mouth.

“Think about it. You said dark hair and blue eyes, that’s Jade. Same interests as you, that’s Jade. Around five foot six? Jade. Confident and completely herself? Obviously Jade '' Andre explained, causing Beck to furrow his eyebrows. 

He knew he was describing Jade, but he tried not to make it obvious enough for his friends to know. Now they were all giving him shocked stares, Cat still giggling while Andre and Robbie pried him for answers.

“Jade and I are just friends” Beck shrugged, trying to be as nonchalant as possible, play it off like it wasn’t a big deal.

“Doesn’t mean you don’t want to be more than that” Cat winked.

“Yeah well I don’t, we’re just friends” Beck finished, causing an awkward silence to take over the group. They all looked down at their drinks instead of talking for a few moments, Jasmine finally breaking the silence.

“Jade and mommy say I’m too young to be thinking about dating or kissing anyone” Jasmine sighed, resting her head against Cat’s shoulder.

“I think Jade and your mom are right, I mean you are only six years old” Robbie told her honestly.

“There was this boy Tyler in my class who had a crush on me but he moved away I think” Jasmine told them, fidgeting with her sleeve, “I didn’t want to be his girlfriend though, boys have cooties.”

As they laughed at the six year old’s remark, Beck spoke up “you’re right, boys do have cooties, _tons of them._ It’s probably best to not go near them for awhile.”

\-----------

They’d, _thankfully,_ made it through the rest of the movie without any major problems. Gilbert kept trying to make conversation with her, but was shut down every time, _they were in a movie theatre after all, where you were supposed to be quiet._ And he spilled popcorn on her accidentally about halfway through the movie, which Jade wasn’t _too happy_ about. But other than that, it could’ve been worse. 

The lights in the theatre came back on as the movie credits rolled. Jade picked up her root beer bottle and popcorn bucket and was about to get up out of her seat just as a pair of lips met hers. 

She hadn’t been expecting it at all, but before she knew what was happening, Gilbert was kissing her, _roughly._ He was holding his mouth against hers and refused to let go, one of his hands running through her hair, that he’d taken out of it’s braid.

Jade took a few seconds to process what was happening, but when she did, she shoved him off harshly. 

“What the fuck was that?” She asked, leaning away from him and wiping her mouth. 

“Oh...you didn’t like it? Brayden said you’d like it…” Gilbert looked down like he was ashamed.

“Of course I didn’t like it! Why would I….wait...did you say Brayden?” Jade stopped her anger for a quick second, picking up on the name Gilbert said.

“Yeah, Brayden Shercone.”

Jade groaned at the mention of his name. _Brayden Shercone_ , their school’s biggest douchebag. He was on the football team with Beck and Andre and from what Beck had told her about him, he was an asshole. It didn’t help that he’d been mean to Cat various times and slut shamed Tori more than once. Jade couldn’t think of a single thing she liked about him. He was an arrogant douchebag, nothing else. 

“Why would Brayden Shercone be talking about me?” Jade asked, feeling the anger rise up in her again.

“He heard about us going on a date tonight and wanted to give me some pointers” Gilbert didn’t make eye contact with Jade, afraid of what she might do to him. 

“Oh yeah, what kinds of _pointers_ ” Jade stood up out of her seat, crossing her arms in front of her.

“He just said since Tori sets you up on all these dates, you’d be _desperate_ enough to give it up on the first date. He suggested I go for it.”Gilbert shrunk down in his seat, watching Jade’s eyes flicker with anger.

“Well you can tell Brayden _vai all’inferno.”_ And with that, she walked away from her seat, going up the theatre stairs. She was biting her cheek hard enough that it was close to bleeding, trying to stop herself from lashing out more. She realized as she was going up the stairs that she said go to hell in Italian, but at this point, she didn't care. 

She opened up the theatre doors, seeing Tori and Trevor waiting by the concession stands. Tori looked up when she saw Jade approaching, not noticing how angry she was.

“Hey! What’d you think of the movie? Wasn’t it-” Tori spoke happily, Jade glaring at her. 

“I’m done with your _stupid_ dates, you hear me Vega? I am _done._ I mean it this time” Jade threw her popcorn and root beer into the trash, walking away from Tori as fast as she could. 

Tori was shocked as she watched Jade walk away. Usually if a date went wrong, Jade would be mad. But Tori didn’t think she’d ever seen her _that_ mad. 

“Jade wait!-” Tori tried calling out, but Jade was already pushing open the movie theatre’s doors, leaving.

“Should you go after her?” Trevor asked, noticing how worried Tori looked. 

“No, she needs time to cool off, she’s probably going to see Beck. I’ll talk to her tomorrow” Tori reassured, but it sounded like she was assuring herself more than Trevor. 

\--------

Jade was mad, _more than mad_ , she realized. She was furious. She hated Gilbert and his stupid kiss, she hated Brayden for degarding her, she hated that _awful_ movie she’d just wasted two hours of her time on. She hated all of it. She didn’t hate Tori and Cat, but she wasn’t _too fond_ of them right now. Most of all though, she hated every _ridiculous_ matchmaking date she’d been set up on. She hated them so much she wanted to scream. 

As she walked down to _Mooney’s,_ she checked the time on her phone. It was 9:15, meaning Beck’s shift was almost over. She hoped nobody would be in the cafe when she got there, wanting to rant to Beck as he finished up his shift. 

As she continued down the block, she held her jacket tighter against her. The California wind had gotten unusually colder than it normally would be during the last week of September. Usually, Jade would enjoy the cold weather, finding peace with the wind blowing gently. But tonight, it felt like it was making everything worse.

She couldn’t tell if she wanted to cry or not. She wasn't going to cry, she _refused to,_ but a part of her still felt like she, _maybe_ , wanted to. Her thoughts rushed as she picked up pace, Gilbert’s words stuck in her head. _That she was desperate._ Did everybody think of her that way? Is that what Tori and Cat thought and that’s why they kept forcing her into these dates?

She thought a lot of her anger had vanished as she walked, but when she pulled open the cafe door, she realized most of it was still there. 

She looked around the cafe quickly, seeing it was empty except for Beck standing at the counter and some old lady reading while drinking coffee in the back.

“Non crederai a quanto sia stata brutta la mia notte. È stato terribile. E Gilbert pensa che io sia disperato! Disperato! Stava parlando con Brayden il coglione e loro pensano letteralmente che io sia disperato! riesci a credere a quella merda?” Jade threw her purse down onto one of the cafe’s chairs, talking as fast as she could. She was aware everything she was saying was in Italian, but like earlier, she didn’t care, she just needed to let it out. 

Beck set down the washrag he was holding, trying to bite back a laugh at how angry she was, and how cute she was when she spoke Italian. He was kind of excited that she was ranting loudly about something, after his friends had left about an hour ago, the cafe was practically empty, and _extremely boring._

“Can you repeat all of that, but in English this time please?” Beck asked, sitting down at the table she was at. 

“I said you won’t believe the night I’ve had, it was completely awful. Gilbert thinks I’m desperate and so does Brayden Shercone.” Jade rested her head in her hands, trying to breathe evenly and calm herself down. 

“He thinks _what?”_ Beck felt himself get just as angry as Jade was. If there was one thing Jade wasn’t, it’s desperate. _And who the hell did Gilbert think he was to be calling Jade that?_

“Yeah they both think I’m desperate cause of Tori and Cat’s stupid date ploys.”

“Since when did Brayden come into this?” Beck asked.

“He found out about Gilbert and I’s date, then told Gilbert that I’m desperate enough to put out on the first date” Jade sighed, rubbing her fingers against her forehead.

“J, don’t listen to anything Brayden says, he’s an idiotic asshole with nothing better to do than be a dickhead.” Beck assured her, resting a hand on her arm and rubbing it comfortingly. He was angry too, mad at Brayden and Gilbert for being such douchebags and saying that about Jade, but he knew to hold it back.

“Yeah I know that, I just want these dates to end. I told Tori that I’m done, like _seriously done,_ but her and Cat probably won’t listen. And next week, I’ll be back entertaining some shitty date.” Jade groaned, trying to cover up the fact that she was close to blushing over Beck’s hand on her arm. 

“We’ll figure out a way to get the dates to stop” He encouraged, watching as she started to relax. 

“Can we just go look at the stars or something?” she asked quietly, starting to put her hair back in it’s original braid.

Beck was about to agree, tell her they could go as soon as the old lady in the back of the cafe left. But right as he started to talk, the old lady came up to them.

“I’m heading out now, but I just wanted to say you two make a lovely couple” she gave them both kind grins before walking away. Beck and Jade exchanged confused glances before looking back. They were about to correct the lady, tell her _they weren’t together,_ but she was already out the cafe’s doors, walking down the street. 

“That was weird” Beck admitted, “ready to go?”

“Yeah….yeah let’s go” Jade watched the little old lady make her way down the road, somewhat confused on why she thought they were together. 

“Let me close up real quick” Beck told her while standing up, handing her his car keys.

\--------------

The drive up to the cliff was about twenty minutes long, mostly silent. Neither of them were really interested in talking, just enjoying the comfort of being together. 

They’d been to this spot several times, usually when one of them had a bad day. The edge of the cliff was a perfect place to park Beck’s truck and lay down to look at the stars. 

When they reached the cliff, Beck parked the car, taking out blankets and laying them in the bed of the truck. Jade grabbed the two coffees Beck made them before they left the cafe, joining him at the back of the truck. 

They made sure the blankets were set nicely before laying down in the truck’s bed, looking at the lit up sky. 

“What am I gonna do about Tori and Cat and their idiotic matchmaking” Jade sighed, resting her head on her arm while looking at the stars. 

“You could always date someone for real” Beck suggested, resting his head against his arm the same way she was. “I mean, think about it, you get into a serious relationship and they have to stop.”

“But that’s the problem. Even after all of their dumb dates, I haven’t found anyone worth dating. No one I legitimately like. That’s why they keep doing it, they think they’re like my superheroes or something” Jade closed her eyes in annoyance. She knew she wasn’t being totally honest when she said there wasn’t anyone worth dating. Considering the person she wanted to date was laying right next to her, but she couldn’t tell him that. 

“And besides, it’s not like anyone wants to be in a serious relationship with me” she finished her thought, turning her head so she was looking at him. 

“Bullshit, tons of guys want to be with you” Beck argued, _knowing he was one of those guys._ “J, you’re gorgeous, you could get any guy you wanted.”

“Quite the charmer, aren’t you Oliver” Jade teased, biting her lip. 

“I’m being serious J, you could get anyone that you wanted in our school without even trying.”

“Maybe that’s it” Jade sat up a little, leaning back on her elbows as an idea came to her head. 

“What?” Beck asked, mimicking her position, confused as to what she was talking about.

“Maybe I don’t have to date someone for real, it just has to look that way.”

“You lost me” Beck narrowed his eyes, looking at her with confusion.

“You just said I could date anyone in our school, that’s my solution. I don’t have to actually date them, it just has to look that way. It’ll get Tori, Cat and everyone else to back off and it won’t even be real dating” Jade explained, getting excited at the concept.

“So you’re gonna what….fake date someone?” Beck asked, unsure about the whole idea. 

“Yeah, it’s perfect. Get rid of Tori and Cat’s attempts at being cupid while also not having to actually date someone. My only problem is who would I fake date….” Jade trailed off, trying to think of someone who would be onboard with her plan. 

As she was thinking, she remembered what the old lady said to them in the cafe. _You two make a lovely couple._ And what Gilbert said to her in the theatre. _I totally thought you guys were together._ And how Tori said they _totally act like they’re together._

That’s when it clicked for Jade. _Beck._ He was the answer to all of this. _The solution to all of her problems._ If people thought they were together when they weren’t, they’d totally believe that they got together for real. She just needed to convince Beck to do this with her. 

“Hey I have a favor to ask you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is! Next chapter should be up by next weekend hopefully, if I get it all written and it works the way i want it to. Anyways, I hope you liked it :) As always, if you have any ideas or thoughts, let me know. It's greatly appreciated <333

**Author's Note:**

> There it is! Chapter one. As anticlimactic as it was, I swear the interesting stuff is coming soon. Just wanted to give you a glimpse into what Beck and Jade are like as friends before we get them fake dating. Also gave some glimpses into what their relationships are like with the others and what they're like at school. That's all for now, but I want chapter two to be up fast so I promise it's coming As always, thank you so much for reading and let me know any of your thoughts or feelings, it's appreciated <3


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